Sunday was one for the record for one Gopher.

Rachel Banham tied the NCAA single-game scoring record with 60 points in Minnesota’s 112-106 double-overtime victory over Northwestern. The senior shattered the Minnesota (44) and Big Ten (49) records to lead her team past Northwestern.

Banham was the first Minnesota player to score 40 or more points since Lindsay Whalen had 41 on Feb. 14, 2002. She is one of two Big Ten players, men’s or women’s, to score 60. The other was Rick Mount of Purdue, who scored 61. The school scoring record set by Carol Ann Shudlick had stood since 1993.

The teams spent nearly equal amounts of time with the lead in the first half, but the Golden Gophers (16-7 overall, 8-4 Big Ten) trailed by as much as 10 before coming back to force overtime. They completed a season sweep of the Wildcats (14-10, 3-9).

Banham scored 20 points in the first, 22 in the second and 18 in the overtime periods. She shot 19-32, including 8-15 from three-point range, and 14-16 from the free throw line.

Carlie Wagner, the other half of the nation’s leading scoring duo, added 21 points to Banham’s 60. The Gophers turned in their highest-scoring game of the year.

Maggie Lyon led Northwestern with 31 points and Nia Coffey had 28.

 

How it happened

Minnesota got its first three field goals from outside the arc, with Bailey starting things off and Banham following with two three-pointers of her own. Banham scored 11 points in the quarter, and Wagner had six. Christen Inman and Maggie Lyon combined for 14 of Northwestern’s points. Neither team led by more than four, and the Gophers and Wildcats ended the quarter tied at 22.

The game remained close for most of the second before the Wildcats went up 39-31 on a Lydia Rohde three-pointer with about two minutes to play. Northwestern led by as much as nine late in the period, but Banham made two three-pointers to cut the home team’s advantage to 46-40 at the break. The Gophers’ leading scorer had 20 points in the half, including five of her team’s six three-pointers. Northwestern had 14 second-chance points and 10 off turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Northwestern stretched the lead to 10 points multiple times in the third, but never more than 10. The Gophers got eight points at the free throw line in the third and trailed 63-56 at the end of the quarter.

Banham led a surge with 11 straight points to put the Gophers ahead 67-66 with six-plus minutes to go. The Wildcats went back up 78-72 before the Gophers trimmed it to two. Ashley Deary scored off a steal to make it 80-76. Banham was fouled shooting a triple and made all her free throws with 45 seconds to go. The Gophers got a deadball rebound to get the ball back. Wagner was fouled and made a free throw to tie the game, and Northwestern’s last shot missed.

Minnesota scored first before Northwestern went up 90-85. Banham scored the rest of Minnesota’s points in the period, including a tying layup with three seconds to go. Lyon missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Joanna Hedstrom led off the second overtime scoring, and Minnesota never trailed the rest of the way.

 

More notes

Banham moved into 24th place on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list. She passed Courtney Paris (Oklahoma), Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford), Becky Hammon (Colorado State) and Karen Pelphrey (Marshall) and has 2,773 career points.

Shayne Mullaney is now in third place on Minnesota’s career assist list, passing Brittany McCoy. She has 521 career helpers. Mullaney had 10 points and five assists Sunday.

The Gophers are 1-1 in overtime games this year.

 

Up next

The Gophers return home to host Nebraska at 7 p.m. Thursday. They will have their Box Out Breast Cancer “pink game” at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 against Iowa.